Contests

• LesleyW’s curious what your favorite characteristics are for hero(ines). Answer her question in a comment before August 28 for your chance to win a copy of Phenomenal Girl 5.

• Katiebabs is giving away five copies of The Devil Wears Plaid by Teresa Medeiros. To enter, leave a comment by August 28. (US only)

• Blodeudd’s giving away an ebook copy of KT Grant’s new romance, For the Love of Mollie. Comment by August 30 for your chance to win.

• Mandi’s giving away a copy of Zoe Archer’s forthcoming paranormal, Warrior (The Blades of the Rose, Book 1). Leave a comment by August 30 for your chance to win. (US & Canada)

• Cecile’s giving away a $60 CSN gift card. To enter, answer her question in your comment by September 1.

• Literary Escapism’s offering you a chance to win either Mind Games or Double Cross by Carolyn Crane – make sure you read the rules to enter! Contest is open until September 3.

Bookity

• New releases: Lily (m/m romance), Dear Author (romance), and Katiebabs (books with cool covers)

• Thoughtful post from Heidi Cullinan on why she writes gay romance.

• Dear Author doesn’t think much of cartoon book covers – do you agree?

• Lots of great book-related topics on the Monday Morning Stepback from ReadReactReview, from Dear Author, and from Wendy the Super Librarian.

• Copy protection in medieval times and today.

• What’s the future of books, according to science fiction?

• Seattle libraries will be closed August 30 through September 6 to save money.

• The Book Garden is cool, but I keep thinking how mildewy it must be…

• Fry & Laurie on bookselling. (Language perhaps NSFW.)

Ebookity

• Test prep giant Kaplan is giving away free ebook study guides through August 30.

• Can ebook publishers learn from the burgeoning online video game market?

• Some observations on how absurd DRM can make things.

• Ten reading revolutions prior to ebooks.

• A recent study found that people who use ereaders tend to read more than those who don’t.

• Some Kindle 3 reviews.

• No, no, no, no – I do not want product placement in my ebooks!

• Have you considered using glasses as a smart phone stand?

• Virgin Mobile’s offering an unlimited, no-contract data plan for $40/month and TeleRead explains how you could use that plan with your various devices.

Learn, Make, Think, Do

• How does your state measure up in support for same-sex marriage? (Thanks, Stephani!)

• Do you know what the ten greatest accidental inventions were?

• More discussion this week on the effect gadgets and connectivity have on our brains: Smart Bitches, Gizmodo, and TeleRead.

• Who should you tip and how much?

• Should you get health insurance for your pets?

• Ten things that might improve your Facebook experience.

• If you work from home, you might be more creative if you just roll out of bed and start working.

• Did you know that the world will be out of helium within 25 years?

• Lifehacker has an extensive guide to color theory and photography.

• I like the Hierarchy of Cleaning.

• Increasing the amount of water you drink can speed up weight loss.

• Love Consumerist’s list of guilty pleasures that do not require (much) guilt!

• A sticky note can make it easier to clean up after you’ve drilled a hole in the wall.

• Make your own grain-free trail bars!

• Can you guess the four cleaning products that you really don’t need?

• If you’ve ever wondered how big something was compared to something else (such as the Moon compared to Australia), wonder no more.

• Do you have a plan for tidying up your virtual life after you die? (Beyond hoping that Jeanne remembers her password for my blog… um, no.)

Cool

• Geeky printer cartridge art.

• Star Wars as a silent film.

• Dalek cake, anyone?

• Make your own retro scifi posters!

• Nighthawks at the Diner updated for the 21st century…

• I bet there’s someone on your holiday shopping list who would love the Keychain Multi-tool.

• Turn your sink into a drinking fountain!

• LEGO car!

• Make your own Batarangs!

• Bowling balls are pretty hard on, well, everything when they’re bouncing down the street.

Huh

• Guys! Stashitware is like a man purse in your underwear! (No, chafing was not addressed in the video.)

• Do you know anyone who has a wooden necktie?

• You could crochet your very own faux-hawk zebra hat.

• Caffeinated marshmallows?

• I would not be playing the flamethrower trombone inside…

• A toothbrush that uses solar power instead of toothpaste?

• You know you want a computer wire dress.

• This has to be the most confusing condom label ever.

• I wouldn’t watch it, but maybe you will – the video that combines the Macarena and Snuggies. (This link is totally Bron bait.)

• Tsk, tsk, Minneapolis, for possibly violating the constitutional rights of zombies.

LOL

• Who’s most likely to survive in a zombie outbreak?

• Crazy Aunt Purl immortalizes the evil colorway breaking Noro knot…

• Franklin has some words of knitting wisdom re: what not to say while you’re working in a coffee shop…

• If you’ve been considering working from home, you might want to check this infographic first…

• How to save dying industries…

• Check out the car phone of 1988!

• Just read a single page from this 1942 book on the dangers of petting… Wanna bet the author wouldn’t maintain his (dubious) sanity for more than five minutes if he’d been transplanted from then to now?

• We’re all familiar with the No. 2 Pencil… but what about the other numbers?

• More Dora humor, this time via Cake Wrecks.

• Indexed on why spies are sexy and “a plague is upon you”.

• Of course, if you follow this link and laugh… how meta does that become?

• Do you recognize these kitty poses?

• Kitties party!

• Rainbow kitty!

• Stealthy kitty.

• You don’t want Frank to arrest you…

• I suppose black kitties head to Hogwarts to study the Dark Arts… and then hold skeery gatherings…

• Evil is available in trial sizes – how handy!

• Some Star Trek Basement Cat humor…

• Looks like Basement Cat is as easily distracted as any other cat.

Teh Cute

• Cat and kitten. (Thanks, Jase!)

• Hundreds of really cute pet wallpapers for your computer!

• Soggy kitten! Hedgehog! Kittens! Kitten! Clean-pawed kitty! Sleepy kittens! Kittens! Brave kitten! Kitten! Kitten! Baby bears! Fist bump kitten! Baby chinchilla! Raccoon dog!

Reading Update
Shining in the Sun by Alex Beecroft. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a wealthy British businessman (so deeply closeted he’s never considered that he might be gay) who escapes on his yacht for a month every summer so he can get away from his mother, his fiance, and his other obligations. When he sees a gorgeous surfer on the beach, everything starts to change for him.
Life, Over Easy (Fragments, Book 1) by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about an Olympic diver whose career ended in a near-death accident. Now he’s attending college and trying to deal with the odd aftereffects of his severe head injury.
Chasing Smoke by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a Homeland Security Agent who’s back in town helping get his mom’s house ready to sell when he runs into his high school crush. Will a mystery from their pasts bring them closer together or drive them further apart?
Slow Bloom by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook. Very good, very steamy m/m romance about a college student who’s taking care of the neighbor’s lawn while he’s home from college for the summer. He’s had a crush on the much older author neighbor for years and finally decides to act on his feelings.
Switch by Claire Thompson. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a confident banker who’s a well-known and respected dominant. When he meets a scruffy artist, he has no idea that his whole world is about to be turned upside down.
Moving On by Fabian Black. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a young man who’s been escaping from his past via alcohol and staying on the move until a dominant older man gives him a ride.
Mist Gray: Falling Apart, Falling Together by Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a romance novelist staying at a lakeside cabin for the summer who becomes fascinated by his next-door neighbor. When he discovers that said next-door neighbor is a sub still grieving for the dom who died a year ago, the novelist is sure he can’t be what his neighbor needs.
Retribution in Blood (Drone Vampires #9) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about Drone Vampire Micah, a secret he’s keeping from everyone including his mate, and his human family, who are living with the Drones.
Enslaved by Blood (Drone Vampires #10) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a Drone vampire who’s been imprisoned and tortured by the VRF for six months. Will the Drones be able to rescue him before it’s too late?
Wild Thing by Mia Watts. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a Minnesota DNR agent who suspects that the guy he’s had a crush on for years is hiding information about the massive wolf sighted in the area.
The Quality of Mercy (Bonded) by Jay Lygon. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance short about a reclusive vampire romance novelist whose life is turned upside down when he finds a cute, freshly turned vampire at his front door.
Twice Blest (Bonded) by Jay Lygon. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance short about that reclusive vampire romance novelist and his attempt to hook up with a cute student.
Bonded by Jay Lygon. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a surfer who inadvertently ingests some vampire (romance novelist) blood and then realizes he can feel what the vampire’s feeling… and vice versa.
A Vintage Affair by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a sommelier, hired to evaluate the extensive wine collection of a formerly moneyed Southern family, who discovers a corpse in the wine cellar. While this was well-written and engaging, the m/f/m scene took me by surprise and the ending seemed hasty and excessively tidy.
Soren’s Surrender (Incognito, Book 10) by Anna Leigh Keaton. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a guy who’s only recently realized he’s gay and has become fascinated by a dominant that he’s been watching at the club he frequents. (Yes, I randomly read this one book in the series because it’s the only m/m book.)
Dark Submission by A.J. Hardcourt. ebook short. Steamy, kinky short m/m scene about a guy who’s been participating in an online bdsm group because he’s sure his boyfriend wouldn’t understand his desire to submit. One night he wakes up to find two strangers with bondage gear in his bedroom… and they know his online identity.

“Why did you call me goofy, Mom? That’s not very nice.” -Mayhem